A day after Kirk Cousins played one of his lowest-rated games as an NFL quarterback, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Cousins "can do better."
Zimmer did elaborate on his coaching points to correct Cousins' decisionmaking, which led to three turnovers in Sunday's 21-16 loss in Green Bay.
"Play within himself," Zimmer said of the eighth-year pro. "As far as, if the play's not there, throw the ball away. He knows that. It's not anything different. Like every position, we're coaching the heck out of him."
The Vikings' comeback, in which the offense scored 16 unanswered points, fell short against the Packers while Cousins completed 43.8% of his passes _ the second-worst mark of his NFL career, better than only his fifth NFL start for Washington in 2013.
Cousins and his receivers were not always on the same page, according to Zimmer, who admitted the Vikings offense had "some miscommunication" against the Packers. In the critical red-zone area, Cousins threw three passes for two incompletions and an interception.
"There were some really good things in the passing game _ the deep ball to (Stefon) Diggs," Zimmer said. "He made some really good throws and then he missed some. Sometimes that's going to happen. We'll continue to work on it and make sure the receivers, quarterback and everybody else is on the same page. There was some miscommunication there (Sunday)."
Aside from disconnect with Cousins, Vikings receivers Adam Thielen and Diggs were each flagged twice _ once apiece for offensive pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct _ adding to Zimmer's frustration.
"There are so many things we have to fix _ fast," Thielen said. "You look at yourself first, and I could've done better the entire game."
